Rocket propelled incendiary bomb

ABSTRACT

1. A rocket propelled incendiary bomb subjected upon firing to acceleration forces, comprising in combination, a main incendiary charge container of generally cylindrical form, an annular bracket fixed to the front end of said container, an ignitor assembled from externally thereof into said bracket and comprising a mounting ring slip-fitting into locked position relative to said bracket and carrying at its front end, a fuse and at its rear end a dispersion device, said dispersion device comprising a generally conically shaped shell carrying an explosive charge therein in communication with said fuse, frangible connection means interconnecting said ring and said shell and capable of withstanding said acceleration forces but rupturing under target impact forces whereby said shell is driven like a piston rearwardly through said main container incendiary charge upon explosion of said explosive charge to rupture the main container portion and drive the ignited incendiary contents thereof in all directions outwardly therefrom.

Barr et al.

1 51 Sept. 16, 1975 ROCKET PROPELLED INCENDIARY BOMB [75] Inventors:Charles Barr, Buffalo; George B.

Urquhart, Lewiston, both of NY.

[73] Assignee: Textron, Inc., Providence, R1

[22] Filed: Jan. 9, 1952 [21] Appl. No.: 265,592

612.558 11/1948 Cook 89/l.7 B

612.997 1l/l948 Smith... 8 /1.7 B 1,335,343 3/1920 Linens 102/661,502,400 7/1924 Safford 102/66 2,383,720 8/1945 Hamilton 102/62,417.331 3/1947 Taylor et al. 259/] 2,468,140 4/1949 Thomton 102/6 X2,494,562 l/l950 Kessenich 102/49 2.568.455 9/1951 Lindvall et a1. 89/1.7 B

Primary Examiner-Verlin R. Pendegrass Attorney, Agent, or FirmBean &Bean EXEMPLARY CLAIM 1. A rocket propelled incendiary bomb subjectedupon firing to acceleration forces, comprising in combination, a mainincendiary charge container of generally cylindrical form, an annularbracket fixed to the front end of said container, an ignitor assembledfrom externally thereof into said bracket and comprising a mounting ringslip-fitting into locked position relative to said bracket and carryingat its front end, a fuse and at its rear end a dispersion device, saiddispersion device comprising a generally conically shaped shell carryingan explosive charge therein in communication with said fuse, frangibleconnection means interconnecting said ring and said shell and capable ofwithstanding said acceleration forces but rupturing under target impactforces whereby said shell is driven like a piston rearwardly throughsaid main container incendiary charge upon explosion of said explosivecharge to rupture the main container portion and drive the ignitedincendiary contents thereof in all directions outwardly therefrom.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEB SE?! 8 I975 SHEET 1 OF 2 CHARLESBARR AND GEORGE R. URQUHART TOR PATENTED SEP I 6 i875 SHEET 2 2 T m ONUE M Q 9% E R VWU m 1T DD A E 5% L mm m B ROCKET PROPELLED INCENDIARYBOMB This invention relates to warfare weapons, and more particularly toa novel ground-to-groundweapon. Whereas, the invention is applicable toprojectile type weapons carrying various agents, such as explosives,inflammables, chemicals, toxic materials, etc., the invention isspecifically illustrated and described hereinafter in detail inconnection with a novel Napalm" type missile arranged to be fired from amobile ground station. The invention contemplates in one form a novelincendiary type bomb which is adapted to be transported to and launchedfrom a ground firing station in improved manner, and to disperse itsincendiary load in improved manner upon arrival at the target. Theattainment of the above stated and other objects of the invention willbe understood from the following specification wherein by way of oneexample of-the invention an incendiary type missile is described and illustrated in detail.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an incendiary missileof the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through aportion of the incendiary container and dispersion device of the missileof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section, taken along line III- III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view in perspective of the missile of FIG. 1 andits combination carrying carton and launching tube means;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the rear endportion of the tube device shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale, taken along lineVIVI of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a rear end elevation of the tube device of FIGS. 4-5; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the device set up in position forlaunching of the missile.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, an incendiary napalm" type missile of the presentinvention may comprise generally a cylindrical tank portion 10constituting a warhead into which is packed jellied kerosene or gasolineor other incendiary material; the warhead 10 being closed at its rearend by means of a bulkhead 12. At its front end the warhead 10 is cappedby a streamlined shell piece 14 to the front end of which is welded orotherwise attached an annular bracket 16 carrying an ignitor 17comprising a mounting ring 18 which carries any desired type fuse 21such as may be selected from any type presently known in the art. Thus,it will be appreciated that the fuse may be of the contact" type, or ofthe proximity" type, as may be preferred.

In any case. in accord with the present invention the ring 18 carries aconically shaped shell 19 inside of which is packed a charge ofexplosive as indicated at 20 (FIG. 1). It is to be particularly notedthat the explosive container 19 is generally conically shaped andpointed into the center of the incendiary charge within the maincylinder portion 10, and that the explosive shell 19 is relativelyinsecurely attached to the warhead ring 18 such as by means of a minimumnumber of relatively soft rivets or the like as indicated at 2222 (FIGS.2-3). A snap ring as indicated at 23 (FIG. 2) functions to hold the ring18 in assembly relative to the bracket 16. Thus, it will be appreciatedthat after the missile is launched, as will be explained hereinafter,and upon arrival at the target the fuse 21 withinthe ignitor 17 will befired which in turn will ignite the explosive charge 20 within the shell19. The explosion of this charge will operate to shear the rivets 2222thereby allowing the shell 19 to be driven in the manner of a spear orpiston rearwardly through the center of the incendiary charge within themain cylinder portion 10. Simultaneously, the explosion of the charge 20will ignite the incendiary agent, and the pressure developed byexplosion of the charge and driving of the piston device rearwardlythrough the incendiary charge will operate to rupture the cylinder wall10, whereby the ignited incendiary agent will be sprayed outwardly inradial directions through the ruptured walls of the cylinder. Thus, itwill be understood that the combined explosive actions of the fuse andthe charge 20 and the piston pressures within the tank 10 will operateto disperse the incendiary agent in improved manner over a relativelywide area to provide maximum incendiary effects, whereas prior artnapalm devices are apt to simply bury themselves in the ground at thetarget area and to form craters inside of which the incendiary agentsare confined with greatly restricted effects.

As stated hereinabove, the rear end portion of the cylinder 10 carries abulkhead 12, and this bulkhead constitutes a structural element of thetail assembly of the missile. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, a frusto-conicalouter shell piece 24 is attached to the bulkhead l2 and carriestherewithin a standard solid propellant type rocket motor, such as astandard jato motor for example, as indicated at 25. The bulkhead 12 isshown as being centrally recessed to receive the nose of the rocketunit; the flange portion thereof being conveniently fixed to thebulkhead as by means of screws as indicated at 26. The conical shellportion 24 of the tail assembly is readily fixed to the bulkhead as bymeans of screws 27. As indicated at 28, the conical tail piece 24carries integrally therewith flight stabilizing fins.

The missile unit also includes a combination shipping carton andlaunching tube device which is illustrated in FIGS. 48 to comprise acylindrical tube 30 which may be conveniently fabricated of somerelatively inexpensive material such as paper board or the like, anddimensioned to receive in slip-fitted relation therein the missile andfin unit described hereinabove. Preferably, the tube 30 will be providedinteriorly thereof with a series of spacer or guide elements which maybe conveniently fabricated of wood strips or the like, as indicated at32. The guides 32 may be attached to the interior of the tube 30 as bymeans of nails 33, and are arranged to extend longitudinally within thetube so as to function both as spacers to hold the missile inside of thetube in centered position therein, and also to guide the launching ofthe missile from the tube as will be explained hereinafter. Thus, thespacer devices 32 protect the fins 28 from damage while the missile isdisposed within the tube. As shown in FIG. 5, the rear end of the tube30 is only partially closed as by means of an annular piece 34, therebyleaving a central opening 35 at the rear end of the launching tube 30 inthe path of the rocket blast. Slip-fit caps 36-38 are provided toenclose the front and rear end portions, respectively, of the tube 30while the unit is being stored or transported or otherwise handled priorto use.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the cylinder 30 is adapted to functionas a shipping carton or carrying case into which the loaded missile maybe slip-fitted and packed at a loading station behind the firing line.Then, a truck load of such packaged missiles may be driven up to thefiring line and the missiles unloaded at the desired ground station.Then, the ground firing crew will take over and set up the containerssingly in the proper firing attitude as illustrated for example in FIG.8. The cylinder 30 now functions as the missile launching tube, and thefiring crew will take steps to properly aim the tube 30 through use ofany preferred sighting arrangement, assisted by azimuth and elevationcontrol instruments if desired. To facilitate the set up and aiming ofthe launching tube 30, the rear end thereof may be supported as by meansof spades 38 detachably engaged to the rear wall portion of thelaunching tube as by means of bolt and wing nut devices as indicated at39.

The front ends of the launching tubes may be conveniently supported bymeans of any suitable props such as by legs as are indicated at 4040(FIG. 8) which are preferably slotted as indicated at 41 so as to beadjustable relative to the container and readily locked thereto as bymeans of wing bolts 42. For this purpose the cylinder 30 is preferablyfitted with screw-thread brackets therewithin, so that wing boltreceiving threaded openings are provided as indicated at 45 (FIG. 4) atopposite sides of the launching tube. As shown in more detail in FIG. 6,a suitable bracket for this purpose may be provided in the form of achannel like metal piece 46 fixed to a wooden strip 48 to embracetherebetween a threaded nut 50 adapted to receive the threaded shankportion of the wing bolt 42 as explained hereinabove; an aperture 52being provided in the container wall in line with the threaded nut 50 topermit ready insertion of the wing bolt into engage ment with the nutdevice.

Thus, it will be appreciated that when the launching tube 30 has beenproperly set up so as to aim the missile in the desired manner, the endcaps 36-38 of the container are removed and a firing cable may beplugged into the rocket motor firing element. Then, upon closing of thefiring switch the rocket motor will be started and the missile will beejected from the container by the rocket thrust while being guided alongthe rails 32 inside of the container. Upon arrival of the missile at thetarget the fuse will be detonated and the explosive charge fired toignite the incendiary charge and to simultaneously drive the piston toburst the container and disperse the incendiary material for a maximumeffeet, as explained hereinabove. [t is of course a special feature ofthe invention that the combination shipping container and launching tubedevice of the invention may be readily fabricated of relativelyinexpensive materials and easily handled before and during action, and

easily subsequently disposed of; all in improved man- It is to beunderstood that whereas the invention has been herein illustrated anddescribed in detail as being incorporated in an incendiary type bomb, itis also applicable with equal facility to bombs designed to carry anyother type destructive load for inflicting casualties or damage tomaterial; and that although only one form of the invention has beenshown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the invention is not so limited but that various changesmay be made therein without departing from the spirit of the inventionor the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A rocket propelled incendiary bomb subjected upon firing toacceleration forces, comprising in combination, a main incendiary chargecontainer of generally cylindrical form. an annular bracket fixed to thefront end of said container, an ignitor assembled from externallythereof into said bracket and comprising a mounting ring slip-fittinginto locked position relative to said bracket and carrying at its frontend, a fuse and at its rear end a dispersion device, said dispersion device comprising a generally conically shaped shell carrying an explosivecharge therein in communication with said fuse, frangible connectionmeans interconnecting said ring and said shell and capable ofwithstanding said acceleration forces but rupturing under target impactforces whereby said shell is driven like a piston rearwardly throughsaid main container incendiary charge upon explosion of said explosivecharge to rupture the main container portion and drive the ignitedincendiary contents thereof in all directions outwardly therefrom.

2. A rocket propelled incendiary bomb subjected upon firing toacceleration forces, comprising in combination, an incendiary chargecontaining warhead, a fin-carrying tail portion connected to saidwarhead, a bracket fixed to the front end of said warhead, an ignitorinserted from exteriorly thereof into said bracket and comprising a ringslip-fitted into locked position interiorly of said bracket andcarrying, a fuse and a dispersion device in communication with saidfuse, said dispersion device comprising a generally conically shapedshell carrying an explosive charge therein, frangible pin meanscomprising a mounting connection between said shell and said ring andbeing pointed rearwardly into said incendiary charge, said pin meanswithstanding said acceleration forces but breaking upon explosion of thecharge in said shell whereby the latter is driven through saidincendiary charge to drive the latter in all directions outwardly fromsaid warhead, and a rocket engine fixed to the rear end of said warheadsubstantially encased in said fin-carrying tail portion and operable topower said bomb through a flight trajectory.

1. A rocket propelled incendiary bomb subjected upon firing toacceleration forces, comprising in combination, a main incendiary chargecontainer of generally cylindrical form, an annular bracket fixed to thefront end of said container, an ignitor assembled from externallythereof into said bracket and comprising a mounting ring slip-fittinginto locked position relative to said bracket and carrying at its frontend, a fuse and at its rear end a dispersion device, said dispersiondevice comprising a generally conically shaped shell carrying anexplosive charge therein in communication with said fuse, frangibleconnection means interconnecting said ring and said shell and capable ofwithstanding said acceleration forces but rupturing under target impactforces whereby said shell is driven like a piston rearwardly throughsaid main container incendiary charge upon explosion of said explosivecharge to rupture the main container portion and drive the ignitedincendiary contents thereof in all directions outwardly therefrom.
 2. Arocket propelled incendiary bomb subjected upon firing to accelerationforces, comprising in combination, an incendiary charge containingwarhead, a fin-carrying tail portion connected to said warhead, abracket fixed to the front end of said warhead, an ignitor inserted fromexteriorly thereof into said bracket and comprising a ring slip-fittedinto locked position interiorly of said bracket and carrying, a fuse anda dispersion device in communication with said fuse, said dispersiondevice comprising a generally conically shaped shell carrying anexplosive charge therein, frangible pin means comprising a mountingconnection between said shell and said ring and being pointed rearwardlyinto said incendiary charge, said pin means withstanding saidacceleration forces but breaking upon explosion of the charge in saidshell whereby the latter is driven through said incendiary charge todrive the latter in all directions outwardly from said warhead, and arocket engine fixed to the rear end of said warhead substantiallyencased in said fin-carrying tail portion and operable to power saidbomb through a flight trajectory.